> "Mike Painter" sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
> news:GcmDj.4104$qS5.3905@nlpi069.nbdc.sbc.com...

>> Suzanne wrote:

>>>>

>>

>>>>

>>> You don't have the facts if you think this. Lady Hope
>>> made a claim that Darwin became a Christian before
>>> he died. She never said that she was present when he
>>> died.

>>
>> So the term "Darwins deathbed conversion is wrong and this never
>> happened? "Shortly after Darwin's death on April 18th 1882, a Lady
>> Hope spoke before a group of people at a school founded by an
>> evangelist in Massachusetts. In this gathering she described how she
>> had visited the deathbed of Darwin, and how Darwin had been reading
>> the Book of Hebrews. He had confessed to her: 'How I wish I had not
>> expressed my theory of evolution as I have done. I would like you to
>> gather a congregation since I would like to speak to them of Christ
>> Jesus and His salvation, being in a state where I am eagerly
>> savouring the heavenly anticipation of bliss.'" The Deathbed Conversion'
>> is a common tale, weaved in an effort to
>> show that even the greatest heretic will become righteous once he is
>> faced with his own mortality. This story has targeted many others,
>> including Voltaire, Thomas Paine, and David Hume. The occurrence of
>> this fable has been covered by G.W. Foote and A.D. McLaren in their
>> book 'Infidel Death-beds'1.

> In the first place in those days schools were all Christian
> especially in the place that Lady Hope lived, so it had
> nothing to do with a school setting as we know of today
> where many of the people are not Christians. Next, you
> are quoting someone that is saying that Lady Hope was
> saying what he said that she said, and this would be
> "hearsay." Next, so what if Lady Hope said that Darwin
> told her that he regretted his theory?" So what? How
> are you going to prove or disprove what Darwin said
> since he died? You can't. You automatically, I see,
> conclude that Hope was lying, and you automatically
> believe "hearsay."

>>

> As for your other examples of
> what you call "deathbed" claims of confessions of
> placing their trust in the Lord for salvation, there are
> many soldiers who can tell you that they didn't know
> that they had it in them to call upon the Lord for
> salvation when they thought they were going to surely
> die. They give their testimony later saying, "I didn't
> know that in the deepest recesses of my mind that I
> really did believe in God after all, and called upon him
> for salvation!" Do you understand what I am saying?

>>

> They did not think that they believed in God until they
> were in a situation where they knew that they could
> die and found themselves calling upon the name of
> the Lord for salvation. They were surprised that this
> was even in them. The problem is that some people
> will not get that chance if they die tonight and no one
> knows if and when that kind of thing could happen,
> do they?

>>